Prints in the Snow: Frost
by IroncladChanning
Summary: AU. When Kiba starts acting weird I figure we should do the one thing I knew would lift his spirits; we went camping. I never expected what happened next but I know I'll never go into those woods again.


**Prints in the Snow: Frost**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto or Atmosphere.

 **Author's Note** : this is written as a one shot for a 100 theme challenge. The theme is 'Frost' and the song that heavily inspired this short little dribble is "Became" by Atmosphere, I highly suggest listening to the song because it's just that good.

 **Summary** : AU. When Kiba starts acting weird I figure we should do the one thing I knew would lift his spirits; we went camping. I never expected what happened next but I know I'll never go into those woods again.

* * *

The chill was the first thing I noticed when I awoke in my tent. The air was frigid, I could see my every breath as it escaped my parted lips. I had bundled in a layer of long johns, thick wool socks, and gloves before climbing into my sleeping bag the night before which was the only thing keeping the chill at bay. Without climbing out of the sleeping bag I dressed myself in another few layers of clothing. What had possessed us to go camping in the winter I didn't know. Remembering Kiba's standoffish behavior the last few weeks—something that was so extremely unlike him—I just knew we needed to do something that could help him leave behind whatever feelings had been haunting him. Camping was something he enjoyed and when I had purposed the idea he had immediately said yes.

I put on another layer of socks then my snow shoes. I stepped out of my tent. It was hard to tell where the sun was in the sky when it was so grey and clouded with freshly fallen snow. The camp site we had cleared the night before had a new layer and I had to shake the snow off the tarp we had laid down on the little bit of fire wood we had found the night before. Kiba wasn't awake yet it seemed. I looked to his tent and figured I would start the fire before attempting to awake him. When it became apparent my attempts were in vain I knew I would need his help. He was the wilderness expert, the only reason I felt confident camping in such extreme weather.

"Hey Kiba, wake up." I say as I walk to his tent "Looks like we overslept. Let's eat, pack up—" my voice catches in my throat as I unzip his tent to find it empty with only a sleeping bag and his back pack. I take a step back and start looking around, trying to figure out where he could be. Suddenly my senses are heighten, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention.

"Kiba?" I say, a little louder. No response. In the distance I can hear snow falling from a limb.

I can see footprints that look like they had only recently been placed in the snow. My eyes follow them and I can tell he had been pacing around the campsite. I notice after a few lapses that he must of walked down the path. Confusion crossed my mind. Had he gone looking for something?

I decide to try to start the fire again, figuring he would be back soon enough. Kiba camped frequently and it was silly to worry about someone who knew what they were doing. I was much less skilled but I knew Kiba would be back soon.

I attempted to light the fire a few more times but every time the wind blew I would lose it again. I was getting frustration. Where was Kiba? He had never left a camp site for so long without saying something and as each minute stretched by I became more worried. Why was I so worried? This wasn't like either of us.

I thought back to how he had been acting the last month. Distracted, staring off into space, stopping suddenly in the middle of the street and looking around like he had heard something, always saying he was fine but doing it despondently which just was't like him. He was loud, caring, over confident sometimes, but incredibly expressive and had a soft spot for animals.

After waiting for over a half hour I decide to follow his footsteps to find him. I check my belt and make sure my knife is there. I slowly follow his steps, they were even like he knew where he was going. I look around and wonder how he could of known, the white wilderness stretched for miles and miles. All I could see was bare trees and snow. The occasionally flake would land on my face. A view that had been so beautiful and inspiring yesterday was causing a strange feeling of paranoia today.

About a quarter of a mile away from the camp site I see something in the snow that makes the fear turn from irrational to real. I knew exactly what they were the minute I saw them, I follow the trail with my eyes, the wolf had walked out of the thick brush from the north and took the same path as Kiba's footprint. Oh, God _no_.

I grab my cellphone out of my pocket and look to see if I have a signal. Nothing. I chastise myself for even humoring the thought. We were miles out in the woods, in the dead of winter. Why had I thought this was a good idea? My soul is screaming on the inside, the voice in my head pushes me to continue. I had to find him. Did he notice the wolf following him?

I follow the two sets of prints now, the wolf's and Kiba's. My fears turn to hysteria when I see another set of wolf prints. My breath quickens. My finger tips are numb but I'm sweating. How could this had happened? Why had Kiba walked off? My eyes are frantically scanning the path and I continue to follow the steps. Dread had settled in my head, I told myself not to think about the fact that I would probably only find his remains. I had to find him. It couldn't end this was. How could he have been so stupid?

I notice Kiba's steps getting farther apart. I knew what the meant, I picked up my pace, running now down the path. I had to find him. There was nothing else. At some point I pulled out my knife. Whatever I found, whatever I saw now, I needed to be prepared for the two wolves I knew I would find.

I could hear the blood pumping in my ears and my breath was coming out so thick and fast that it momentarily would cloud my vision as I ran forward. The tracks take an immediate turn off the path and I follow. The brush is thick and I'm stumbling through it, not paying attention to the limbs hitting my face and tearing at my clothes.

It was hard to tell how far away I wondered from the camp site. The fear I felt in my heart and the adrenaline coursing through my veins was the only thing propelling me forward.

I came to a clearing suddenly. There was no sound. It was so damn silent for being the middle of the woods. It felt like the air dropped another ten degrees. The hot blood in my body turned to ice and I covered my mouth to muffle the choking cry that involuntarily forced itself out. I didn't quite understand what I was seeing at first even though it was painfully obviously what had happened.

Kiba's footprints suddenly disappeared. Where his had been a new third set of wolf prints had appeared.

No blood, no limbs, no body. No struggle. Nothing but three wolf prints that continued forwarded.

Every hair on my body stood at attention, a wave of goosebumps from the top of my head down to my toes overcame my senses.

My brain stuttered in that moment. I had never believed in the supernatural but there was no denying what my eyes were seeing. I don't know how long I stood there dumbfounded but when I heard the howl in the distance something snapped.

I turned and ran. I never looked back.

I made it back to the camp and didn't stop to collapse my tent or roll my sleeping bag. I grabbed my bag and continued to run. My lungs were on fire but I refused to stop. My head screamed _hell no, hell no,_ over and over again. I found the road and continued to run until the next car passed. I grabbed a ride back into town.

By the time I walked back into my apartment – how could this had ended this way?—I knew what I had to do.

* * *

"So I don't know how your story ends

but I know I'll never go into those woods again

It's not that tragic its not a shame

You're not the hunted you're not the aim

You're just another dog with hunger pains

I was so afraid that you'd become the game

I forgot to worry about what you became"

"Became" – Atmosphere


End file.
